Some implantable medical devices include, among other things, capacitors and batteries. It is desired to design small implantable medical devices, and thus it is desired to design small batteries and capacitors for these devices. These small batteries and capacitors include thin electrode foils. These electrode foils can have different sizes and shapes to prevent electrical shorts, accommodate space constraints, or for other reasons. The differently sized and shaped electrodes present difficulties in assembly operations, including difficulties registering the electrodes to a location for stacking, and difficulties stacking the different sized electrodes onto one another.
Mechanical hold-downs such as webbing or clamps have been used to hold-down electrodes to prevent movement while they are being stacked. Drawbacks of mechanical hold-downs include the speed with which a mechanical hold-down enters the assembly area, holds the stack, and retracts from the assembly area. Further, they have difficulty in handling varied electrode shapes. Additionally, some mechanical hold-downs damage the electrodes, which can adversely affect the electrical characteristics of the battery or capacitor.